Monday, November 3, 2014

Le Centaure



Le Centaure


This large bronze sculpture represents the mythical centaur 
with the body of a horse and the bust of a man.


It was created in 1985 by the French artist César Baldaccini 
(called simply César) and sits in the small place Michel Debré 
at the intersection of Rue du Cherche-Midi and Rue de Sèvres.  


Interestingly, the artist placed his face 
as the head of this strange sculpture




Le Centaure
Place Michel Debré
Rue du Cherche-Midi et Rue de Sèvres
75006, Paris

12 comments:

Louise said...

Oh I love this statue. I walked past it many times last year- not once this year. It's in such a difficult spot though, the light is always terrible at that intersection. And thanks for the information- I'd never bothered to find out anything more.

Joe said...

You do find all the hidden corners Genie.

Alain said...

Assez curieusement, César lui a fait des jambes d'homme. Ce n'est pas l'oeuvre que je préfère.

M said...

Very interesting. I am fascinated by the human feet ... always thought the lower body was completely equine. Love the lighting!

William Kendall said...

Quite a stand out!

Alexa said...

Oh, you captured this perfectly! It's become a bit of a landmark for us, hasn't it?

martinealison said...

Bonjour ma chère Génie,

Je ne connaissais pas cette sculpture étrange...
A Lyon nous avons la sculpture du patineur de César qui a posé de nombreuses polémiques... Après 10 ans de procédure judiciaire elle revient à la ville de Lyon.

Jolie photo.
Gros bisous à toi

Randy said...

Nice shot. I like the light.

Jack said...

It is an unusual but good composition, Genie, putting the highlight in a mere outline.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Alain, moi non plus!

Louise, I wish that I was there right now with you!

Alexa, indeed, and it is best viewed as we know from this angle or from the front. The back view always catches me by surprise!

Merci, Martine. He has a thumb sculpture also, but not in Paris. I think that he only passed away within the past ten years or so.

Thank you for all the comments!

Bises,
Genie

Unknown said...

Nice photo! Funny, I just saw César's grave in the Montparnasse Cemetery. There's a miniature of this statue at his tomb.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Merci beaucoup, Sara. I saw the photo on your site and now have this marked on my list for my next visit to Paris.